


Yurio on Ice

by RedChucks



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Aged-Up Yuri Plisetsky, Because it's Yuri, Friendship, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Minor bit of angst, Post-Canon, Rated teen for swearing, Yuri swearing, covid mention, friends being friends, platonic friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:13:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26807932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedChucks/pseuds/RedChucks
Summary: "Yuuri pushed through the heavy double doors in to the rink, lips parted and eyes searching, his other senses trying to catch up to his ears, trying to place what he was hearing and why. The Hasetsu Ice Palace wasn’t open to the public at this hour, he’d used his own key to get in and Yuuko was nowhere to be seen, so why was ‘Yuri on Ice’ floating through the air towards him? Whose skates could he hear gliding over the ice? The sound of it all was intoxicating and Yuuri let his eyes drift shut for a moment as pleasant, if overwhelming, memories flooded through him."_Set five years in the future, Yuuri is content with his life in Hasetsu, but always welcomes visiting friends. Yuri is in need of friendship and relief from the grief he doesn't know how to share when not on the ice.-I just like writing Yuuri and Yurio as friends, okay. And after a rubbish week in the hospital it was a joy to be able to actually write something.
Relationships: Katsuki Yuuri & Yuri Plisetsky
Comments: 6
Kudos: 39





	Yurio on Ice

Yuuri pushed through the heavy double doors in to the rink, lips parted and eyes searching, his other senses trying to catch up to his ears, trying to place what he was hearing and why. The Hasetsu Ice Palace wasn’t open to the public at this hour, he’d used his own key to get in and Yuuko was nowhere to be seen, so why was ‘Yuri on Ice’ floating through the air towards him? Whose skates could he hear gliding over the ice? The sound of it all was intoxicating and Yuuri let his eyes drift shut for a moment as pleasant, if overwhelming, memories flooded through him.

Moving forward, as if in a dream, Yuuri stopped short as he finally came close enough to see who was out on the midnight ice, moving with a sublime grace and energy that Yuuri admired and envied in equal measure. The ever-evolving monster, turning Yuuri’s free skate from half a decade ago, in to something otherworldly and hypnotising. Yuri Plisetsky. Yurio.

He hadn’t seen the young man for almost a year, not since Worlds, back before international sport was put on hiatus thanks to Covid-19. Before that of course, Yuri had been a regular guest of the Katsuki and Nishigori families, traveling to Japan whenever he had the chance and joining the triplets in their relentless teasing of how mushy and romantic Yuuri’s engagement and subsequent marriage to Victor was. Despite having grown in to a truly charming man, several inches taller than the rage-filled boy Yuuri had first met at the Grand Prix Final, Yuri still had the sharpest tongue of anyone Yuuri had ever met. He could be truly wicked when he wanted to be but on the ice he was a different creature. Out on the ice the salt and snark faded from Yuri’s personality and only the intensity and passion remained. Occasionally the depth of Yuri’s intensity frightened him; he was single-minded on the ice, pushing himself to the point of exhaustion, or injury far too often. He released so much emotion when he skated, but the emotions he was currently displaying, Yuuri acknowledged, were something not seen before. 

Yuri was smiling for one thing - his relaxed movements and flowing limbs a perfect accompaniment to the beloved music. As Yuuri watched, the younger skater arched his spine, transforming the simple ‘Ina Bauer’ from Yuuri’s original program in to a full Layback, the extension of his hands and the blissful expression on his face creating an image of grace and beauty that Yuuri would never have been able to achieve. Yuri glided over the ice like an angel through the clouds and it stirred an aching in Yuuri’s chest. Even retired from competition, Yuuri still performed, still delighted the crowds who came to Hasetsu for the Ice Palace’s now famous shows. He still got to feel some of the rush of competition as Minami’s coach, and he truly loved the workshops and summer camps he and Victor ran in the off seasons. They had been host to some of the brightest up-and-coming skaters in Japan, and abroad. It was a truly blessed life. 

Yuuri hadn’t felt homesick for his former skating career in some time, he was content - so content - and truly loved his life but, watching Yuri dance across the ice to that music, was almost too much.

Yuri landed a magnificent quad before moving in to the final step sequence, demonstrating the skills he had honed over the last few years, skills that Yuuri was proud to have contributed to, though Yuri would never own up to the private sessions with his Japanese counterpart. He might have matured a great deal over the last five years but he still had pride in spades, pride that extended to those he cared for and considered his. Or perhaps protective was the better word. The Ice Tiger came to the fore when Yuri perceived any threat to those he loved, and beneath the joy on the young skater’s face, the Tiger was visible. It was enough to send a shiver down Yuuri’s spine as he stood transfixed by the danger and beauty of Yuri Plisetsky.

It reminded Yuuri of the many other times he had seen the Tiger really rear it’s head. He recalled the way Yuri had acted personally affronted when the need for a knee reconstruction put an end to Victor’s skating career for good. He had been fierce in keeping the world’s media at bay and doing anything that Yuuri and Victor needed of him. But more than that, Yuri had seemed to feel that his own ability had been questioned, and he had pushed himself even harder in the following season, wanting to prove that Victor’s legacy (though Yuuri was sure Yuri would never phrase it that way) was continued. Only Yuuko had been able to convince Yuri to pull back before he fell and caused his own career destroying accident. Yuuko was so often the only one who could get through to Yuri, and the only one who could get anything from him when his emotions were in turmoil. 

There was no turmoil in Yuri’s face that Yuuri could see as he watched the man enter his final spin. Yuri was masterful when it came to spins, had been since the first time Yuuri had really watched him skate, on that very rink, as they’d practiced their routines side by side. And still, the ‘Biellmann’ Yuri was performing at that moment beggared belief. It was beauty itself and for a moment Yuuri worried that the younger man might snap, or that he was pushing himself too hard again. Yet there was no sign of anger on Yuri’s face at that second. He looked serene as he lowered his leg and rose his arms in to the final pose - hand outstretched, spine straight - and Yuuri felt tears prick his eyes at how familiar, and yet how different, the routine was from when he had performed it. 

He gasped when he noticed the telltale shine of a tear making it’s way down Yuri’s cheek. It didn’t make sense and threw his memories and thoughts in to turmoil. He had thought Yuri was happy for once. He’d seen him smiling not one minute ago. But then the music faded, and something had changed. He’d only ever seen Yuri cry once, upon the completion of his free skate in his first Grande Prix Final, and he knew that the young man, who had only been fifteen at the time and rightfully overwhelmed by the moment, had felt humiliated by his emotional display and refused to let anyone bring it up, even in the most innocent of contexts. Yuri was liable to yell loud enough to cause mass migraines if anyone brought up that particular display, or to kick over a table and ruin dinner. Yuuri wished he didn’t know this for a fact, and that Victor hadn’t felt the need to do multiple checks of the theory that Yuri really did react badly to talk of the time he fell to his knees in tears in front of hundreds of people and all of YouTube for the rest of time. 

Yuuri felt very distinctly that he would never be able to speak to anyone about what he was seeing now. Whatever this truly was, it felt incredibly personal and he honestly had no desire to see Yuri embarrassed about it. But just as he made this decision, Yuri opened his eyes and saw him, his graceful stance morphing into something entirely the opposite, one knee coming up to cover his groin and his hands to his chest as if he’d been caught naked rather than in his black practice clothes. His face was contorted in fear and shock and humiliation, and Yuuri tried not to smile at just how much Yuri reacted like a cat to unexpected situations.

When Yuri shot off toward the barrier a moment later, in the opposite direction of the gate where Yuuri was waiting, he really wasn’t that surprised. What did surprise him was that instead of slowing down when he reached the edge, Yuri let himself crash against the barrier and flip over it in a flurry of long limbs. For a long moment Yuuri stood, slightly dazed, wondering how it was that figure skaters could be so graceful and centered whilst performing, yet so uncoordinated and awkward in almost every other situation. A second later he pulled himself together and ran around the side of the rink to where Yuri lay on his back, attempting to tug his skates off and having no luck whatsoever. 

“Yurio, are you alright?” Yuuri panted as he stopped in front of the Russian skater, trying to ignore the obvious humour in the sight at his feet. It had been too long since he’d seen Yuri this flustered. “Did you hurt yourself? You really should be more careful, you’re not fifteen any more, you can’t just assume your body will bounce when you do something reckless.”

Yuri glared at him, a look Yuuri knew well, but instead of yelling, which he would have done a few years ago, Yuri only grunted and carried on tugging at his laces. “Like you haven’t done the same thing at least a dozen times. Don’t lecture me like you’re my coach, Katsudon, you’re the one whose bloody nose hitting the wall is one of the most watched figure skating videos on YouTube.”

Yuuri chuckled, feeling a faint blush blossom across his cheeks at the jab, but far from cowed by Yuri’s sharp words. “Yeah, I always figured half of those views were courtesy of you, Yurio,” he laughed, noting the way Yuri’s scowl - and blush - deepened. The urge to tease further was strong because ribbing with Yuri was actually a lot of fun now that they weren’t in direct competition with each other, but he held back. Running away wasn’t really Yuri’s style anymore, not unless it was a mad dash away from his ardent fans, and Yuuri had expected an ear lashing for being sneaky and watching him like a creep - Yuri didn’t usually need much of a reason to go on the attack - so to see him glaring at his own feet, blushing like he’d been caught doing something... Yuuri didn’t even know what would make Yurio blush like that. He only knew was that it was suspicious. Well, that, and the fact that Yuri would never offer up answers if asked directly. Instead he changed tack and smiled as genuinely as he could. Yuri could smell insincerity a mile away. 

“I didn’t even know you were in town, Yurio,” he offered cheerfully, leaning against the rink barrier and definitely not focusing on the knotted mess Yuri had made of his laces. “You’re not staying at Yuu-topia?”

Yuri grunted, finally succeeding in pulling his first skate off, his mouth shut in a tight line like he meant to never speak again. He glanced up for the briefest moment, offering Yuuri a flash of blue-green eyes that were brimming with emotions that weren’t usually so clearly evident. Yuri’s deeper feelings were usually hidden behind an icy shield of confidence and anger. Seeing nervous apprehension, tiredness, sadness... it was rare for Yuri to let such things show. He turned his attention back to his second, stubbornly knotted, skate before Yuuri could look more deeply or come to any sort of conclusion. It was a little frustrating, but it wasn’t his first encounter with an emotionally overwhelmed Yuri, so he folded his arms loosely and looked across at the benches against the wall and the fading posters hanging above them. Yuri featured heavily, thanks to Yuuko who, within minutes of meeting Yurio, had adopted him as her son. 

“You’re staying at the Nishigoris’?” Yuuri asked casually, looking down at Yuri out the corner of his eye. 

A grunt came in response. Yuuri nodded.

“The triplets are getting tall, aren’t they? Only the other day I was saying to-”

“They’re fucking giants! Right?” Yuri exploded without warning, arms flailing and stuck skate forgotten. “Getting tall? Getting tall?! Are you blind, Katsudon? They’re growing like weeds! I Skype them every week, how did I not notice they’ve turned in to fucking bean stalks?! They’re taller than you!”

Yuuri felt his lips twitch upwards. “Nearly. Give them another year. They’re only eleven. They’re girls so they’ll probably stop growing once they’re thirteen or so.”

Yuri pulled a face. “Girls are weird.” Yuuri couldn’t help but laugh at that. He’d heard Yuri say exactly the same thing at age fifteen but it was strange to hear him say it at twenty. Yuri just poked out his tongue in response. “What? What are you laughing at? It’s true! They’re weird! They didn’t leave me alone all afternoon!”

Yuuri laughed again, honestly unsure why Yuri was complaining. It was no secret that Yuri loved the triplets and doted on them the way he doted on his cats. Sure, they had been on Team Yuuri for the original Hot Springs on Ice competition but their allegiance had changed the next time Yuri had come to visit, with a gold medal in one hand, and a pile of gifts in the other. Now the Nishigori triplets were a force to be reckoned with in the social media figure skating fandom, giving ‘Yuri’s Angels’ rare glimpses of their idol at ease and even (on rare occasions) smiling. Yuri didn’t just tolerate Axel, Lutz, and Loop; from what Yuuri saw the young man genuinely loved the triplets and sought out their company whenever he was able.

Seeing that he would get no sympathy from his present company, Yuri made as if to swat at Yuuri before returning to his stubborn skate which just did not seem to want to part with his foot. As he tucked a lock of blonde hair behind his ear Yuuri noticed that Yuri was sporting several uneven plaits in the under layer of his hair, tied with familiar pink, purple, and blue ties, and felt his heart melt. He too cared deeply for the triplets but to him they were the children of his friends - he couldn’t help but see them as babies and miniature versions of their father, Takeshi, and a barrier between himself and the friendship he had once had with Yuuko. Yurio had no such baggage. To him the girls were basically sisters and while Yuuri hadn’t been aware of the fact that Yuri Skyped with the Nishigoris on a weekly basis he wasn’t surprised. Yuri had found family in Hasetsu, whether he liked to admit it aloud or not, and Yuuri couldn’t be happier about that. 

But even if Yuri had come to Japan on a whim (it wouldn’t be the first time) he usually at least told people he was coming, whether it was Yuuko, Minako or Mari, word always got back to Yuuri before the young Russian’s actual arrival. He hadn’t even heard news of this visit from the triplets, which made it very likely that Yuri hadn’t had time to call ahead. Whatever had driven his need to visit Hasetsu on this occasion, it had been something sudden, something out of the ordinary. Yuuri wondered how hard he could push before Yuri really bit back.

His musings were interrupted by a triumphant shout from Yuri as he was finally able to tug his skate off, narrowly avoiding stabbing himself in the face in the process, and falling back to rest on the worn carpet, wriggling his toes in relief. Yuuri could see the tell-tale signs of a burst sore or blood blister on Yurio’s foot, the dark, wet, stain marring one of the outrageously loud leopard print socks, but Yuri didn’t seem fussed. Skaters’ Sores had often brought Yuuri close to tears but Yuri hated to even acknowledge that his sport caused him such damage, and never complained of it. Yuuri wondered what was going on in Yuri’s life that was causing him to potentially overwork himself when he was supposed to be heading in to his off season. It was no easy thing to learn or choreograph something entirely new but he had just seen Yuri perform a version of his own ‘Yuri on Ice’ long program, which had definitely not been part of Yuri’s competition program over the last year. Yuuri was sure he would have noticed that.

“So... have you been up to anything interesting lately, Yurio?” he asked tentatively, noting the way Yuri had made himself comfortable on the floor with his hands behind his head and his legs in the air. His hair was a messy golden halo and his eyes were looking up at the air conditioning ducts in the ceiling, though the focus seemed to be on something much farther away. 

“No.”

Yuuri waited for some sort of follow up but nothing came. Eventually he turned to look up too, wondering what Yuri was seeing. 

“Tried any new restaurants?”

“No.”

Well that was a shame. Yuri had a real love for good food, despite his strict diet and tiny waist, and had recommended some simply amazing eateries over the years. Food was usually a safe topic but Yuri was being stubborn.

“Have you seen Otabek lately?”

“No.”

Yuuri frowned. Well that didn’t sound right. Yuri couldn’t help but smile when Otabek’s name came up, usually. Now his mouth was a thin, sharp, line. Yuri hated to share anything personal, anything private, and his friendship with Otabek Altin was, for that reason, a closely guarded secret, no matter how wide he grinned when he was in the man’s presence. There was only one person in the world who Yuri prized more.

“How’s your grandpa, Yurio? Still making the most delicious food in all of Russia?”

Yuuri was fishing now, looking for a reaction, a boast, an insult - anything! But regretted it almost immediately when a look of intense pain flashed across Yuri’s face, distorting his elegant features for a moment before he locked them down and his face became unreadable once more. It didn’t matter how often Yuuri saw him do it, watching Yuri’s face change from something soft and human to a statue carved from the purest marble always unnerved him. It scared the life out of Minami as well, and for a long while Yuuri had suspected Yuri of doing it just to psych out his opponents. Victor had called it a party trick when he’d seen it happen, scoffing and dismissing it as more of Yuri’s dramatics. But seeing Yuri do it now, to hide his emotions, Yuuri didn’t think it was just a trick. Something really was wrong, and it was time to push just a little bit harder. 

“Yurio?” He waited for a response but none came. He nudged Yuri’s leg with his foot, pulling back when it earned him a wince. Yuuri would bet a katsudon banquet on Yuri having a whole rainbow of bruises on his legs and hips from other tumbles and falls. “Yuri?” He took a steadying breath, suddenly anxious in the still, midnight silence. “Yuri, what’s happened? Is something wrong? Something at home? With Otabek? With your grandfather? With-”

“Just shut up!” Yuri screamed suddenly, scrambling to his feet and getting in to Yuuri’s face in a way that honestly made Yuuri feel nostalgic. “Just shut up, and stop being so goddamn nosy! I just wanted to skate! I just wanted to come here and skate for a few hours and have some peace but there’s always fucking someone, isn’t there? No one ever leaves me alone. You all just love to prod and pry and pick at me but you don’t really Care, do you?! You just want to make me feel like shit!” He let out a sob that sounded like it had been ripped from his throat. “Why do you all just want to make it hurt worse?!”

Without waiting for an answer Yuri pushed past Yuuri and stormed away, hobbling across the floor in his socks, his skates discarded by the barrier. Yuuri let him go, his brows furrowed in confusion. Whoever was making Yuri feel so terrible deserved a firm talking to and Yuuri didn’t want to count himself among those who Yuri felt were tormenting him, but he really did want answers, because something was most definitely wrong and Yuuri wasn’t going to let Yuri go through it alone. 

He gave Yuri a minute’s head start to get his shoes and his emotions under control before he followed. Following directly on his heels would only force the rage that was ever-present within Yuri to overflow and Yuuri didn’t want that. That sort of confrontation wouldn’t be productive. Instead he walked casually, slowly, his desire to skate forgotten in the pursuit of his new goal, and as he pushed the doors to the rink open he saw that Yuri hadn’t left, hadn’t really run away, just as he’d predicted. He was sat in the front foyer, on one of the Ice Palace’s cheap plastic seats, staring down at the scuffed tiger print trainers on his tired feet. Yuri needed to share what was eating at him, whether he wanted to or not. 

“You know what?” Yuuri said to the quiet room, not caring whether Yuri acknowledged him or not, knowing the younger skater could hear him well enough, even if he didn’t look up. “I’m feeling kinda hungry. What’s say, you and I head over to Nagahama Ramen for a midnight binge? The hot saki’s on me.”

He could see Yuri thinking it over. The icy mask was nowhere to be seen now and Yuuri was able to sight a glimpse of the boy Yuri had been when they met, a never ending cascade of emotions, desires, and frustrations. Yuri had never turned down a trip to Nagahama’s, a delicious ramen bar, and the place Yuuri and Victor had taken him on his eighteenth birthday, for his first taste of saki, and eventually Yuuri saw the battle that was raging across Yuri’s features settle itself.

“You’re paying for the okonomiyaki as well, okay?” Yuri muttered through clenched teeth, still glaring down. “And the takoyaki! And I’m not telling you shit, you hear me? Not while I’m sober anyway. So you better be ready to spend a whole lot on saki, yah?”

Yuuri held back the desire to laugh and gave Yuri a kind smile instead. “Of course,” he shrugged. “I know what I’m getting in to, offering alcohol to a Russian.”

Yuri smirked at that, a smile visible beneath his loose blonde hair, and the hood that he pulled up over his head as he stood. Yuuri made sure not to crowd him, or act too familiar, as they left the ice rink together. Yuri’s personal space bubble was larger than most people’s, and his senses more heightened, and Yuuri knew he needed to tread with the utmost care.

“Dah,” Yuri nodded, straightening his shoulders a little and looking more like the four time Grand Prix Final gold medalist. “Victor has nothing on me. You want my secrets, Katsudon? You better be ready to bear the consequences. I ain’t got no fairytale shit to tell you.”

Yuuri nodded and sent Yuri another smile as they stepped out in to the crisp midnight air. This was a Yuri he knew - that he could work with. Officially becoming friends with Yuri had been an odd thing. Yuri had insisted that they say it out loud and shake hands, and Yuuri had been startled to discover that this was because Yuri only considered himself friends with one other person - Otabek - and only because they had asked formally and offered him a handshake like a formal pact. Yuuri had gone along with it of course, not wanting to embarrass Yuri, and wanting genuinely to be the young man’s friend and gain his trust. His reward was a fiercely loyal friend, and the privilege of the occasional glimpse in to the mind of the greatest competitive figure skater on the planet. It was a rare honour. Just as the opportunity to see Yuri skate to his - Yuuri’s - free skate had been a privilege. One which he couldn’t take for granted.

“That routine you were skating...” he murmured, looking up at the stars that glittered above his idilic home town. “It was beautiful. More than I could have ever imagined. More than I could ever have done...”

“Well obviously,” Yuri snorted, his own eyes trained up at the clear night sky, but then his arrogant grin softened. “But that creation of mine would not exist without your original. What would there be for my genius to surpass without your simplicity? And the piece is called ‘Yuri on Ice’, is it not? Friends share, do they not? And Grandfather said... he told me... before...” Yuuri watched the sharp, stubborn, jaw wobble, and began to suspect what had brought Yuri to Japan so suddenly. Losing Yakov four months ago had been bad enough. But to lose Nikolai as well... Yuri wouldn’t be able to tell him when he felt so vulnerable, so exposed. A bottle of saki would get the details from him. “He told me,” Yuri continued, a little hoarse, “not to forget what is truly important. I wanted to give him honour.”

“We’ll drink to him,” Yuuri told him softly. 

“Dah,” Yuri agreed. “Dah. Now take me to dinner, Katsudon. I’m starving. Yuuko is a mediocre cook at best and the triplets stole half of my dinner because they are growing like wild fucking blackberries! Tomorrow I will cook for them but tonight is on you. I need to eat my troubles away. Come, I’ll race you.”

And with a quick skip and a wink, Yuri was off, jogging down the hill toward the busy, restaurant district. Yuuri shook his head and smiled before setting out after him. Sure he was content with his retirement in Hasetsu, with his husband, and his family and his friends, and his home rink. But that didn’t mean the presence of Yuri, and the innate excitement of his personality, wasn’t hugely welcome. Yuri had been a motivating force behind his decision to keep skating. Yuri had been the one to gift him his new puppy, Koton-chan. Yuri had been the one to have an ‘extremely stern talk’ with Victor when he’d begun to panic the day before his and Yuuri’s wedding. Yuri was his friend, and whatever new darkness was currently eating at him, Yuuri wanted to know it, wanted to help him through it. It was only right, after all, for one Yuuri to help out another.

**Author's Note:**

> This is only my second YOI fic but these characters have really capture my imagination. I was wondering whether this fic should stay a one shot or whether I should continue with it and turn it in to a bigger story. Any thoughts? Thank you kindly for reading.xx


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